In this edition of the newsletter, you will find the most important national and global developments in tax law that are (closely) related to the transfer pricing world.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Quantera Global Network
- On 22 October, we published a case study about the transformation of a global TP policy for a rapidly expanding US multinational. You can read the case study here.
- Our international alliance network is open to new partners. We welcome TP specialists, independent professionals and accounting, audit, tax and legal firms, as well as other like-minded organisations that value quality, clarity and care. You can find more information on this topic here, including a link to schedule an introductory call with us.
Quantera Global Specialties
In the past month, several challenging and noteworthy projects were successfully completed, including:
- Delivering a transfer pricing strategy session, resulting in a more robust and efficient TP design for a large MNE operating in 20+ countries.
- Supporting an MNE in a TP tax audit, which included with only minor corporate income tax adjustments for prior years, that can be offset in the coming years.
- Various financial transactions analyses, including credit ratings, an acquisition funding analysis and pricing grids.
If you would like to know more about these topics, please feel free to contact us.
News from around the world:
Argentina
On 28 October, Decree 767/2025 (Official Gazette) was published, updating cross-border reporting obligations, effective for fiscal years ending on or after 29 October 2025. The (pro-active) filing of a TP study and the Master file is not required when cross-border intercompany transactions do not exceed certain thresholds.
Australia
- On 21 October, the Full Federal Court ruled on the interaction between Australia’s domestic tax dispute process and a MAP procedure. The Full Federal Court overturned the decision made by a single Federal Court judge and ordered that the domestic tax dispute process is halted or suspended until the MAP process is completed.
- On 22 October, the ATO updated its Pillar Two webpage with guidance on the transitional CbC reporting safe harbour, outlining the conditions for access, effects, and the applicable transition period.
- On 27 October, the Treasury opened consultation on draft rules to align Australia’s Pillar Two law with OECD administrative guidance; consultation closes 21 November 2025.
- On 29 October, the ATO updated Practice Statement PS LA 2015/4 on advance pricing arrangements, incorporating improvements from the 2023 APA Program Review. This update clarifies mutual expectations and entry criteria, increases transparency in decision-making and governance, and refines the handling of collateral issues at different APA stages.
Brazil
The following update is provided by our network partner Castro Barros.
On 3 October, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) published Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,282/2025, amending Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,228/2024. The latterregulates the Additional Social Contribution on Net Income (CSLL).
In Brazil, this additional contribution functions as the Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (QDMTT) in the context of the OECD’s Pillar Two Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Rules, aimed at ensuring a minimum effective tax rate of 15% on the global profits of multinational groups with annual consolidated revenues exceeding EUR 750 million.
The updates introduced by the new regulation primarily aim to incorporate the reference documents approved by the OECD Inclusive Framework (“Agreed Administrative Guidance”) published in June 2024 and January 2025. In addition, Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,282/2025 seeks to improve drafting clarity, harmonize definitions and provide practical guidance on the application of the Additional CSLL rules.
Key changes introduced by Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,282/2025 include:
- Enhancements to the tracking and recapture rules for tax liabilities – Adjustments were made to the methodologies for monitoring and potentially reversing tax liabilities that reduce profit for purposes of calculating the top-up tax.
- Rules addressing differences between accounting and tax values of assets and liabilities – The regulation provides detailed guidance on how to treat temporary differences between accounting and tax values, which is essential to ensure consistency in top-up tax calculation.
- Rules for attributing taxes among entities in different jurisdictions – The regulation introduces a four-step mechanism for allocating covered taxes to foreign income, designed to prevent double taxation.
- Criteria for classifying transparent (Flow-through) and hybrid entities – Specific criteria have been established to classify such entities, ensuring that complex legal structures do not compromise the application of the minimum taxation.
- Specific rules for securitization vehicles – The regulation now includes specific tax treatment for securitization vehicles, recognizing the particularities of these structures.
- General drafting and conceptual adjustments – These include clarifications relating to the fiscal year of constituent entities, applicable accounting standards, business combinations, the concept of jurisdiction, and corrections to duplicative rules involving withholding income tax (IRRF) on interest on equity (JCP).
The interpretative provisions take effect in 2025, while the remaining changes will apply from 1 January 2026, with optional early adoption available as of 1 January 2025.
Bulgaria
On 3 October, the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance published a public consultation to align Bulgaria’s transfer pricing framework with the OECD TP Guidelines. The draft Ordinance also implements the BEPS Actions 8-10 and 13, requiring transfer pricing documentation and CbCR in Bulgaria and linking profit allocation with the place where value is created.
European Union
On 21 October, the European Commission adopted its 2026 Work Programme “Europe’s Independence Moment”, aiming to reduce the administrative burden by simplifying tax rules. The European Commission decided to withdraw the Unshell Directive (ATAD 3), DEBRA, and the proposed EU Transfer Pricing Directive, while continuing the legislative process for BEFIT, the Head Office Tax system for SMEs, and the digital economy proposals on a digital services tax and significant digital presence.
France
On 8 October, the tax authorities issued guidance on France’s Pillar Two rules aligned with the OECD GloBE framework, clarifying scope and providing examples. They also announced forthcoming guidance on safe harbours, effective tax rate and top-up tax calculations, charging mechanisms, transitory rules, and filing and payment.
Hungary
On 2 October, the Ministry for National Economy published a draft autumn tax package for consultation. The package includes, amongst others, Pillar Two guidance on a simplified ETR test.
India
On 24 October, the Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal) ruled in favour of Vodafone in the case of Vodafone Idea Ltd v ACIT (ITA No. 8361/Del/2019, rejecting a significant royalty adjustment. The tax authorities had challenged a benchmark study for royalty payments, using the CUP method, performed by Vodafone. The tax authorities issued an adjustment in the royalty payments, based on a royalty arrangement between two other related parties. The Tribunal rejected the adjustment, holding that the CUP method must rely on uncontrolled comparables and rejecting the use of a related-party arrangement by the tax authorities.
The tax authorities also adjusted a royalty payment for the use of the ‘’Essar’’ mark. The tax authorities claimed this had no value and the price was therefore adjusted to Nil. The Tribunal noted that tax authorities cannot simply replace the taxpayer’s commercial judgment on brand value and ruled in favour of Vodafone. With the assessment on the CUP invalid and no reliable alternative was presented, the entire royalty adjustment was removed.
Israel
- On 5 October, the Ministry of Finance released draft Pillar Two legislation introducing a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) and exploring a Qualified Refundable Tax Credit (QRTC) mechanism. Public comments were open until 26 October.
- The Tel Aviv District Court ruled on 28 October that the transfer of employees and assets (including IP) to a related party shortly after the acquisition of the company, should be viewed as a sale of the entire business activity. This transaction is common with Israeli companies with IP that are acquired. Transferring the employees and the IP (and other assets) creates a capital gain. Therefore, for tax purposes the value of the IP should be derived from the share acquisition price.
Malta
On 9 October, the Malta Tax and Customs Administration published the election form for the 15% elective tax under the Final Income Tax Without Imputation Regulations. The election must be filed by 28 November 2025 for the 2025 assessment year and will bind the company for at least five years. Malta has deferred IIR and UTPR while implementing only administrative elements of the EU Minimum Tax Directive.
OECD
- On 15 October, the OECD published the Secretary-General Tax Report for the G20 meetings in South Africa. This report reviews progress on BEPS minimum standards, the Two Pillar solution, and tax transparency. It also includes a ten-year Inclusive Framework stocktake, and introduces a voluntary framework for the automatic exchange of real estate information. Additionally, it provides updates on tax policy, inequality and growth, global mobility, environmental taxation, and tax and development.
- On 22 October, the OECD published the third batch of TP country profiles, updating 25 jurisdictions and adding five new ones (Cabo Verde, Guatemala, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Zambia). The profiles include new information on hard-to-value intangibles and Amount B for baseline marketing and distribution, and bring total coverage to 83 jurisdictions, with a fourth batch due in December 2025.
- On 31 October 2025, the OECD’s Forum on Tax Administration held its annual Tax Certainty Day and released the 2024 MAP and APA statistics. Panels highlighted progress in MAPs over the past decade, the role of statistics as KPIs, growing interest in multilateral MAPs and APAs, and pilots using APA-style processes beyond transfer pricing. The data show a slight rise in TP MAP inventory to 2,980 with 1,119 cases concluded in 2024, varied country patterns, and continued efforts to clear older cases.
Slovakia
On 15 October, the Ministry of Finance issued updated transfer pricing documentation guidelines (MF/012879/2025-724) and a new 2025 corporate income tax return form revising “Table I – Transactions with related parties.” The guidelines expand required disclosures to include the exact transaction type, counterparty name and country of residence, and transaction value, and they replace MF/020061/2022-724 for periods with filing deadlines after 31 December 2025.
South Africa
On 2 October, South Africa signed the GIR Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, enabling automatic exchange of GloBE information under Pillar Two requirements.
United Kingdom
On 15 October, HMRC added 13 territories to its lists of Pillar Two territories and qualifying top-up taxes. This brings the total number of territories on the lists to 15, following the initial additions of Guernsey and Spain in July 2025.
United States
On 1 October, the Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the Tax Court in 3M Company v. Commissioner. The Tax Court had allocated unpaid royalties to 3M’s Brazilian subsidiary. However, Brazilian legislation caps the amount of royalties that can be paid to a foreign subsidiary. The Court of Appeal rejected the allocation of the unpaid royalties based on US TP regulations that do not permit the attribution of income that a taxpayer could not legally receive. 3M had no control over the unpaid royalties due to Brazilian legislation. The Court stated that it did not matter whether the legal restrictions arose from US law or foreign law.
Final words
Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of our newsletter. I hope you found the insights and updates valuable. Do you have any questions or need further information? Contact us today to get expert advice on worldwide transfer pricing matters and developments.
If you have not already done so, subscribe to our Quantera Global newsletter here and join over 2,000 finance and tax leaders in receiving our newsletter, webinar invitations, latest trends, and sneak peeks into the world of transfer pricing in your inbox every month.
Best regards,
Adriaan van der Heijden
Director at Quantera Global
